Problem showing dvd on s-video output

I think I am doing something stupid, but I can't figure it out. I have used my T40p for many years, inclunding using the external vga display to drive monitors and digital projectors. For the first time, I wanted to use it to display dvds on a tv using the s-video output capability.

I have enabled the s-video and connected to the tv without a problem. My desktop is shown on the tv correctly. However, when I use dvd player software to show a dvd, the tv does not show the content. The dvd content shows correctly on the computer display, but not on the tv screen. If I use "full screen" display, nothing shows on the tv. If I am only showing the dvd in a window, then everything else on the desktop is shown correctly on the tv, except the dvd window is blank. Again, it appears correctly on the comupter display.

I have tried various media player software, including intervideo WINDVD, and Classic Media Player. I have tried both PAL and NTSC discs. No difference.

Re: Problem showing dvd on s-video output

Thanks for that. I checked the site and it seems to say that the 9000 series is not supported with the newest drivers. It says v3.8.252 is the version that will support the 9000. Am I reading that right?

Re: Problem showing dvd on s-video output

I downloaded and installed the catalyst omega v3.8.252 driver. The symptoms are still the same.

One more detail. When showing dvds with Intervideo WinDVD, there are certain messages that appear within the video window, such as "pause" when you hit the pause button, and "play" when you first click the play button. These messages show on the tv screen, but the dvd content does not show up.

Another detail. I took a screenshot of the computer panel display, thinking I might want to send it to someone to help with the diagnosis. I paused the dvd during playback, so there was a still image from the movie in the window, plus the message "pause" in the upper left of the playback window. To my surprise, the screenshot ALSO shows just the "pause" message, but not the still image from the dvd, just like the tv display.

What is going on? The fact that the screenshot didn't show the dvd still seems to confims that it is a problem with the display driver or other software, not a problem with my tv display capability.

Re: Problem showing dvd on s-video output

According to the Lenovo website, the latest version of Intervideo WinDVD for the T40p is 4.0 B11 280, which I already have installed. I will download and re-install, but it doesn't seem like this is likely to be my problem.

Re: Problem showing dvd on s-video output

Can everyone else show dvds on their TVs using the s-video output, and I am the only one with this problem? Or has no one else actually tried to do it? It would be helpful to know if this is just my problem, in which case I have some obscure video setting interfering with this capability. Or is this a feature which has some basic flaw that was never worked out in the T40p?

If others can show dvds on their TVs using the s-video out capability, can you take a screenshot of a paused dvd on your desktop and paste the screenshot into MS Word, and does the dvd still image show up on the screenshot?

When I paste a screenshot of the paused dvd into MSWord, the dvd still image portion of the screenshot is actually transparent. I can see the desktop underneath the area where the dvd still image is supposed to be in the MSWord copy of the screenshot. Very strange. It is as if the dvd playback, as output to the tv, and as captured by the screenshot, is transparent.

Is there some video setting somewhere that I have inadvertantly set to transparent?

Re: Problem showing dvd on s-video output

Ok, I solved this problem myself. The solution is to use a configuration that uses ONLY the external display. Apparently if you enable the s-video output, but don't DISABLE the LCD display, then the video adapter only produces the dvd content on the lcd display, not the s-video.

There are two ways to select the s-video output only. Go to settings->contol panel->thinkpad configuration. On the thinkpad configuration window, on the upper left, there are five buttons to activate various display configurations. One of these is "tv only." If you click that button, the computer lcd screen shuts off, and the s-video output becomes active. Showing a dvd in this configuration using intervideo WinDVD or other video display programs displays the dvd content on the tv screen through the s-video ouput.

The other way is to set up a custom display scheme using the "presentation director" which can be accessed from the "thinkpad configuration" window described above. It is available under the "display" pull down menu. I created a custom scheme called "dvd" which automatically sets the external screen resolution at 640X480. This is compatible with my standard ntsc tv resolution and avoids the necessity of changing the display resolution prior to activating the s-video ouput. I can select this scheme using the FnF7 key so it is quick and easy.